minecraft

Minecraft Pocket Edition Lite 0.2.1 Review

Minecraft is one of the most successful, independently-published games of all time, selling millions of copies on the PC, Mac, Xbox and now iOS platforms. That means it has been tweaked, customized, and tested to the point of pixelated perfection. So how does the free trial edition of the mega-bestseller perform for your iPhone or iPad? Not surprisingly, it is a very stable, very well constructed app, though it's a little restrictive past the first play through.

The interface is classic Minecraft. Everything you know and love from console and desktop versions of the game is fully intact. You … Read more

Pirate trolling and WWDC scholarships: The Week in Downloads

Every week, we compile the best new reviews, products, and features from the Download.com software catalog and blog, package them up in a tidy little newsletter, and e-mail it out to all of our lovely subscribers.

If you are a registered CNET member, you can sign up for the newsletter yourself (it's listed as "CNET Download.com Software Dispatch" under "Software News and Reviews"), or check back every Tuesday to read our latest roundup.

Top Download News and Features

Microsoft launches a public beta for its new Facebook app for Windows Phone 8 Game … Read more

Blacksmith forges Minecraft diamond sword from steel

Armorer Tony Swatton wasn't content to stop at ax-sharp Batarangs. Nope, he had to go and forge a Minecraft diamond sword in his blazing hot blacksmith workshop of awesomeness. Somebody get that man a cold beverage, because he's on geek fire!

While Minecraft has multiple levels of swords, starting with wood, Swatton went with the highest level, diamond. It's all documented in sweaty, fiery detail in his YouTube series, Man at Arms.… Read more

Block building, tower defense, and first-person mayhem in one game

Block Fortress is a great mix of tower defense and first-person shooter that lets you build a home base with turrets and other defenses, then play in first person while you help defend your blocky base. It's an incredibly deep game, but the way the developers named the game types is a bit confusing on first play.

The graphics in the game are almost exactly like those in the hit game Minecraft, with tons of different block types to unlock and use to defend your fortress. Fans of Minecraft will feel right at home during the building phase of … Read more

More Java-based malware plagues the cross-platform runtime

Java cannot seem to get a break. Only a few days after patching the last zero-day vulnerability, two more exploits are being found that make use of the runtime. One, as noted by Kaspersky, is a recent exploit of the latest runtime's attempts to install a McRAT executable by overwriting memory in the JVM that will trigger the executable to run.

Once installed, the McRAT malware will attempt to contact command and control servers and copy itself into dll files in Windows systems.

This malware is specifically Windows-based; however, a second one outlined by Intego, is a Minecraft password-stealing … Read more

Minecraft is a chip off the adventurer and creator's block.

Minecraft is to my 25-year-old self as Legos were to my 5-year-old self: a time-sucking, mind-bending, and sleep-depriving experience in the simplest of activities. It hits the right tune on the subject of creation: it really does provide building blocks for your imagination.

Minecraft has no real direction, anchoring plot, or specific guidelines. Players are dropped into a world with only the ability to carve out resources from the surrounding land; you're a miner (duh!).

The game's graphics won't impress, but leaves you with one direction and focus: to build. Soon you'll find out that as … Read more

King's Landing from 'Thrones' gets the Minecraft treatment

Do you love "Game of Thrones"? Do you eat, sleep, and breathe to the tune of the epic HBO television series based on George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels?

I know times are tough, especially since the new season doesn't start until March 31. But we might have something to tide you over until then. … Read more

Raspberry Pi app store launches with games, tutorials, more

The Raspberry Pi isn't just desserts any more. With the announcement today of the Pi Store, a market for apps, tutorials, games and tools for the super-cheap credit-card-size system, the Pi is now looking more like a full meal.

According to a post on the Raspberry Pi blog, the store runs as an X app under Raspbian where apps and other content can be downloaded and uploaded for moderation and addition to the virtual shelves. From the very beginning, the Raspberry Pi project has had a focus on getting kids around the world interested in programming, hence the moderation of the Pi Store. So don't go looking for malware or bikini pic aggregators there anytime soon. … Read more

Search for information about game objects using Minecraft Plus

Minecraft Plus is not a version of the popular Minecraft game, but a standalone guide to the Minecraft world for the iPhone and iPad. Minecraft Plus is available from iTunes and several other Web sites, and is easy to install.

At its heart, Minecraft Plus is a reference guide. Every item and potion, armor, mob, or construction tool in the game is referenced in Minecraft Plus. You can enter what you're looking for in the search engine and pull up all references to that item in the guide. This is not a replacement for the game, but an add-on … Read more

Look up practically everything about the game with Minecraft Explorer Lite

Minecraft Explorer Lite is an add-on for the highly popular multiplatform Minecraft game. Minecraft Explorer Lite is not the game itself, but a reference guide to the items and potions that exist in Minecraft. Minecraft Explorer Lite is available from iTunes and various other sites and installs without a problem.

The main purpose of Minecraft Explorer Lite is to support the namesake game. There's a lot of content in Minecraft Explorer Lite, ranging from skin selections to an index on all the recipes in the game, a seed guide, an enchantment guide (only with the full paid version), and … Read more